Asian Inspired Coleslaw

Last September, for the very first time in my entire life of living in Washington State, I visited Mt Baker which is clear up at the northern boundary of the state. It was sunny and clear, quite warm when the glacial wind wasn't blowing, with the odd patch of snow at Artist Point and along the trails. I'm not an outdoorsy person, like a hiker or a camper. I'm an ambler, as in, I prefer to amble along flattish paths in a temperate forest. It didn't even occur to me that I'd be on the top of a mountain. At the end of September. So there I am in my hot pink Converse and lightweight cardigan (because I get warm very easily), on the top of a mountain, surrounded by serious hikers and serious tourists in fleece vests and thermal jackets and actual hiking boots. It was surreal. My friend who is an advance amateur photographer and actual outdoors man, took off on one of the paths that went further up the mountain. I, on the other hand, found a nice sunny log to sit on and people-watched. And get a mild sunburn, which is something else that didn't occur to me. I joke that I must've been a dog in a previous incarnation because I love to ride in the car, even short trips, but I think I was a cat in many more incarnations. I'm essentially lazy, I prefer my own company and I'm finicky about allowing other people into my personal space, I think about food constantly, and I'm quite happy to observe rather than participate.

Mt Baker as seen from Artist Point

After my friend had taken all the photos he could possibly take, we eventually headed back down the mountain for a late lunch at an unassuming diner across the highway from an Italian restaurant. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich and it was served on a pile of french fries with a side of coleslaw. Now, I'm super-picky about coleslaw. All too often, it's a sweet, watery mess which detracts rather than complements a meal. This coleslaw was amazing. It had cilantro and scallions mixed in with the cabbage and a sweet chili dressing that had a bit of bite without being cloyingly sweet. After the first couple bites, I piled the slaw on my sandwich and inhaled it. By nature (or perhaps nurture), I'm a slow eater. I like to take my time and enjoy my food. That was not the case with this meal! The pulled pork was smoked in-house with apple wood and seasoned just right, and heaped on a toasted ciabatta roll. I'm not a huge fan of ciabatta as they ought to have a chewy crust and a soft interior, yet I've found that most commercial ciabatta are dry and bland with nothing to distinguish them from another other bread roll.

Since then, I've craved that coleslaw. The first thing I needed to do was find a sweet chili sauce that wasn't too sweet nor too spicy. I made a trip to the Korean grocery, H-Mart, as I needed to pick up some sesame oil, veggies, and a few other staples. I was also looking for fresh wide rice noodles which for some reason they don't carry. They did have frozen hom bao on sale; yum! I love those things! Anyhow, I picked up a bottle of sweet chili sauce, pretty much at random and because it was $1.49. For that price, I figured I'd give it a try.

So yesterday afternoon, I made up a batch of Thai Inspired coleslaw. I was planning on eating it with some cheese'n'bacon brats but then I decided to make some barbecued pulled pork as I needed to cook a roast before it went bad. The sauce for the pork was a bottled mustard-based barbecue sauce to which I added brown sugar and honey to counterbalance some of the acidity. The pork turned out great and so did the slaw. I'll pick up some crusty bread today so I can make my very own pulled pork and slaw sandwich for dinner!

Asian Inspired Coleslaw

Ingredients:

**All measurements are approximate so adjust as needed

**Yields about 4 cups

4 cups cabbage, thinly sliced or shredded

2 carrots, grated on the bias (that means diagonally)

5 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced on the bias

5 radishes, top and tailed, cut in half and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped

Dressing:

1/4 cup sweet chili sauce

1 heaping tablespoon mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil or more to taste

Juice from half a lime or more to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup crushed roasted unsalted peanuts for garnish

Combine the veggies and cilantro in a large bowl. Whisk the ingredients for the dressing together in a smaller bowl, taste, and adjust the seasonings as needed. 

Toss the veggies with the dressing no more than 15 minutes before serving so the slaw doesn't become watery. Garnish with the peanuts and more cilantro, if you'd like.

Cook's Notes:

1. Feel free to use bags of coleslaw mix. Cabbage can be oddly expensive as they're sold by weight and are rather heavy for their size. Since I was at an Korean market with a great variety of inexpensive produce, I picked up a small head of green cabbage and small Napa cabbage. I used about 1/3 of the green and half of the Napa. Purple cabbage would add nice color to the slaw; use whatever you prefer.
2. Most slaws include carrots, as I did. They provide a little sweetness and some great color. Grate them on your hand-held grater, holding them at an angle in order to produce longer, intact shreds. Currently, I don't have a grater so I used my vegetable peeler instead to make strips. It worked pretty well.
3. I like the crunch of radishes and their slightly peppery heat so I decided to include some with the other veggies. You can omit them, but why not give them a try? Make sure you rinse them well as they often still have mud from the fields on them. If you're really adventurous, try shredded daikon or an heirloom variety. 
4. I called this an Asian Inspired slaw, which is true. It's perhaps closer to being Thai in that the ingredients include scallions, cilantro, lime juice, and peanuts. 
5. If you don't wish to use mayo in the dressing, try a neutral-flavored oil like grapeseed instead, peanut oil which will enhance the peanut flavor, or a stir fry oil which is safflower oil seasoned with garlic, ginger, and onion. I personally wanted a creamier dressing but it's up to you.

I still have most of the sweet chili sauce left. I'm thinking I'll use it to glaze chicken before grilling later in the year or perhaps in a pan sauce for shrimp or in a dipping sauce for spring rolls...